14 DAY TRIAL // One of the most popular mid-range smartphones launched by HTC in the last couple of year, the Desire 816, has just reached Australian shores, so customers can now give it a try, assuming they are willing to commit to a long-term contract.
HTC Desire 816 is now available for purchase in Australia via major carrier Optus. Customers can pick this one up for free on select plans starting at $40 (€27). Those who choose the $60 (€40) per month plan will also receive 1.5GB of data for free.
However, as AusDroid points out, the Desire 816 will not support Optus 4G Plus network given the fact that it lacks 2300MHz radio. The good news is that the smartphone offers support for 1800MHz 4G network.
As many of you probably know, HTC Desire 816 ships with Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system out of the box, along with the latest Sense 6 UI (user interface) that is now rolling out as an update for HTC One M7 as well.
Hardware-wise, the smartphone comes with more than decent features that make it stand out from other mid-range handsets priced similarly.
For example, the Desire 816 is equipped with a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, which is clocked at 1.6GHz. Most mid-range handsets pack MediaTek chipsets or CPU clocked at lower than 1.6GHz.
Another strong point of the smartphone would be the enhanced 13-megapixel photo snapper on the back, which features autofocus, LED flash and full HD (1080p) video recording.
It is also worth mentioning that the decent processor is complemented by a not so powerful Adreno 305 graphics processing unit and 1.5GB of RAM, which should be more than enough to run even the most demanding Android games.
Although HTC Desire 816 comes with only 8GB of internal memory, users will be able to further expand storage up to 128GB via microSD memory card.
When it comes to connectivity, the mid-range smartphone offers a wide range of features, including LTE, HSDPA (42Mbps), Wi-Fi, NFC (Near Field Communication), Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS with A-GPS support.
The Desire 816 also sports a large 5.5-inch Super LCD2 capacitive touchscreen display that supports HD (720p) resolution and 267ppi (pixel per inch).
It also comes with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera for perfect selfies and smooth video calls, as well as a non-removable 2600 mAh battery that should provide up to 735 hours of standby time or up to 21 hours of talk time.